On Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, the Merrill Wrestling Program inducted two new members into their Hall of Fame, in conjunction with a Wrestling dual against Marshfield and Youth Night, making for an exciting evening for Merrill Wrestling.
Kevin Steidinger and Chad Meyer were officially inducted into the 2025 Merrill Wrestling Hall of Fame (HOF).
“It was awesome, two of Merrill’s finest coming back to be a part of this dual,” said Merrill Boys Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Brian Suchocki. “Chad and Kevin are great representatives of Merrill Wrestling. They were able to come down to our warm-up before the dual and meet the guys. I think that helped set the tone for the night.”
Kevin wrestled Varsity for three seasons from 1982-1984. When he was a Senior, the Jays finished second in the State Wrestling Tournament. Steindinger finished his Senior year with a 28-6 record and a third place finish at State. He was also a Badger State Champion and his 21 pins were a school record. As a Junior, Steidinger was a Regional and Sectional Champion and the team won a Wisconsin Valley Championship and was the number-1 ranked dual meet team in the state. He was a Wisconsin Valley runner up all three years and had 69 career wins.
After high school graduation, Steidinger continued wrestling for the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1984-1988. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in Special Education and taught in Wisconsin, Florida, and N. Carolina where he retired after 30 years. It was there he met his wife, Ruth, and they had twin daughters, Bennett and Carson. In 2006, Steidinger was a finalist for Teacher of the Year in Wake County Public Schools. He continues to work part-time teaching special education classes at Cary High School in N. Carolina.
During his teaching career, Kevin coached football, wrestling, and track and field. He was the Head Wrestling Coach at Edgewater High School in Orlando for three seasons and able to help turn around a struggling wrestling program. In his second year, he had two Conference Champions and two State qualifiers. In his last year, he had a young team that performed well, with the core of that team going on to win a District Championship.
“I am indebted to my parents and family for their sacrifices and encouragement,” Steidinger said. “Also, the support of the Merrill Wrestling family and Wrestling Club was instrumental in my development as a wrestler and person. They fed me, gave me rides, encouraged me, and made it possible to spend the long hours and days that wrestling demands. I spent numerous Friday nights at a teammate’s house so I could attend a Saturday Tournament.”
Recalling his coaching career at Edgewater, Steidinger said: “I was a young and inexperienced coach. I based my philosophy and workouts on what I learned while wrestling at Merrill. I had phenomenal coaches and mentors; Roger Wendorf, Leo Leiskau, Randy Hill, Arvo Britten, and Dave Belfiori. They stressed fundamentals, hard work, and relationships. Those foundations helped me establish a bond with my wrestlers as they developed a love for the sport. I am proud that two of my wrestlers became coaches in the area.”
“I would like to thank the Merrill School Board and Administrators for their support, particularly Mr. Lanny Tibaldo and Mr. Jack Ader,” he said. “I started wrestling halfway through the season of my eighth grade year. Coach Britten called my parents and convinced them to let me ‘try’ wrestling (he did the same for football). I would never have been able to compete in sports if it wasn’t for the after-practice activity bus. I spent many hours being the only student on the bus taking me home to Little Chicago. That community support made my participation and accomplishments possible. Thank you.”
“I am humbled and honored with this recognition,” Steidinger said. “The lessons from wrestling have guided me through the highs and lows of my life. I have many fond memories of teammates, practices, dual meets, and tournaments while wrestling for Merrill. Go Jays!”
Chad Meyer was a two-year Varsity wrestler for Merrill at Heavyweight with a combined record of 53–19. In those two years he scored 71 take downs, 31 pins, and 277 team points. He went 17-0 in dual meets. His Senior year, in 1989-1990, Meyer was one of the Merrill Varsity Wrestling Team Captains, won the Legion Award, had a 30-9 record, and took second place at State. In his two-year high school wrestling career, Meyer was a Wisconsin Valley Conference Champion, two-time Regional Champion, two-time Sectional Champion, and a two-time State qualifier.
Meyer grew up watching his older cousins participate in wrestling and basketball, so he wrestled from first through fourth grades, then played basketball from fifth grade until his Freshman year. “During those years of playing basketball, I always had Roger Wendorf in my ear telling me that I should go out for wrestling,” Meyer said. “So finally after my Freshman year, I was talking with Roger again, and he told me I should go out for wrestling. Plus, he said I was too short to play basketball and I was built like a wrestler.”
“After hearing him say it that way, I finally decided to start wrestling again my Sophomore year on JV,” he said. “So I would like to say thank you to Roger Wendorf for being so persistent and getting me back involved with wrestling again.”
“I also would like to thank all of my coaches: Roger Wendorf, Leo Leiskau, David Branvold, Scott Areneson, plus thank all the alumni that would come back to practice and make us work hard,” Meyer said. “I especially would like to thank Leo Leiskau for wrestling with me in practice everyday and pushing me to get better.”
Meyer lives in Merrill with his wife, Beth, and has a son, Kole. He has worked at Reindl Printing for the past 33 years.
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